: Re: Filter Words in Dialog I realize there are lists of words that writers aren't supposed to use, but does the same apply to dialog? http://penningtonpublishing.com/blog/grammar_mechanics/how-to-eliminate-to-be-verbs-in-writing

@Bryan361

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I think that the articles you cite look like very bad advice. I see what they're saying, but I wonder if following these rules will really cause a reader to decide that a story touches them more or makes them realize deeper insights.

Okay, seriously -- and I admit up front, I am about to get highly opinionated here: Yes, there's a point in there about drawing the reader into the action. But to say that using these words makes a bad story and not using them makes a good story is not just mind-numbingly simplistic, it's in an entirely wrong direction.

"She wondered how she could make it across the busy road" is lame but "How could she make it across the busy road?" is enthralling? Get real. If only good writing could be reduced to such a simple formula. The argument here seems to be that writing in the first person, or a sort of pseudo-first person, is good; but writing in the third person is bad. No. Each has its place. Learn the pros and cons of each.

The to-be article is even sillier. For example, it contrasts "That school is great" -- bad sentence, with "That school has wonderful teachers, terrific students, and supportive parents" -- good sentence. I agree that the second is a more interesting sentence. But is the important difference that the first uses "is" and the second doesn't? No. What if we rewrote them as, "That school does great" and "That school is a place with wonderful teachers, terrific students, and supportive parents." Now I've switched which uses "is" and which doesn't. Did that make the first sentence the better one? No. The difference is that the first has no depth, it gives us no reason for the judgment, while the second gives some explanation. Actually I think the second is still a pretty dull sentence, as it gives no clue why the writer thinks the teachers are wonderful, etc. It's still a statement of unsupported opinion, just a slightly more detailed one.

There may be some simple formulas to better writing, but I don't think these are it.

End of opinionated rant.

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